Brolga was a young girl, who loved to dance, but she lived in a time when only men were allowed to dance. However, one day Brolga got up and joined the men dancing. At first the people were angry that Brolga had broken the rules, but when they saw how well she danced, they let her go. Brolga's fame spread throughout the land and people came from faraway places to watch Brolga dance. Many men, who came to watch Brolga dance, fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. Yet Brolga refused, as she just wanted to dance and was not interested in marrying anyone at all. Most of the men understood, and left Brolga alone. That is, everyone except one Evil Man. He followed Brolga everywhere and would not leave her alone. Brolga's people told her to stay around the camp, where she would be safe from the Evil Man. Brolga agreed and for a long time, she only danced in the camp, where her people could keep an eye on her. One day though, Brolga's dance took her far away from her people, out onto the plains> the Evil Man followed her there and used his magic to capture her. "Marry me now!" shouted the Evil Man. "No!"said Brolga. "I will never marry you!" "Well, if you do not marry me, I will make sure that you never marry anyone else!" Whereupon the Evil Man invoked his magic once again and then disappeared. The magic made Brolga sleep for a very long time. When she woke up, she felt sore and bruised. Brolga looked down and saw that she no longer had the lovely legs of a young girl. Instead she had the legs of a bird. Then Brolga looked at her hands, but saw that they were no longer the hands of a young girl, but rather the wings of a bird. At first Brolga was very sad, as she thought that she would never dance again. But when she tried, she found that she could still dance as well as she had before. It was then that she saw her people searching the plains for her. Brolga ran towards them, but they did not recognise her. Her people were so intent on finding her, that they simply ignored this strange but beautiful bird that flapped around them while they searched. Brolga started to realise that they did not recognise her. She knew then that she would have to do something special to attract their attention. That is when she had the idea to perform her people's favourite dance. When the people saw this, they realised what the Evil Man had done to Brolga. They then promised to look after her forever, so no Evil Man could ever hurt her again. This is how Brolga became a bird.
Once you have read the story, you can use this document to complete a reading comprehension task. When you finish this task, please e-mail your answers to your Australian Partner Student, who will correct this for you!
How Brolga Became A Bird
Brolga was a young girl, who loved to dance, but she lived in a time when only men were allowed to dance. However, one day Brolga got up and joined the men dancing. At first the people were angry that Brolga had broken the rules, but when they saw how well she danced, they let her go.
Brolga's fame spread throughout the land and people came from faraway places to watch Brolga dance. Many men, who came to watch Brolga dance, fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. Yet Brolga refused, as she just wanted to dance and was not interested in marrying anyone at all.
Most of the men understood, and left Brolga alone. That is, everyone except one Evil Man. He followed Brolga everywhere and would not leave her alone.
Brolga's people told her to stay around the camp, where she would be safe from the Evil Man. Brolga agreed and for a long time, she only danced in the camp, where her people could keep an eye on her.
One day though, Brolga's dance took her far away from her people, out onto the plains> the Evil Man followed her there and used his magic to capture her.
"Marry me now!" shouted the Evil Man.
"No!"said Brolga. "I will never marry you!"
"Well, if you do not marry me, I will make sure that you never marry anyone else!" Whereupon the Evil Man invoked his magic once again and then disappeared.
The magic made Brolga sleep for a very long time. When she woke up, she felt sore and bruised. Brolga looked down and saw that she no longer had the lovely legs of a young girl. Instead she had the legs of a bird. Then Brolga looked at her hands, but saw that they were no longer the hands of a young girl, but rather the wings of a bird.
At first Brolga was very sad, as she thought that she would never dance again. But when she tried, she found that she could still dance as well as she had before. It was then that she saw her people searching the plains for her. Brolga ran towards them, but they did not recognise her.
Her people were so intent on finding her, that they simply ignored this strange but beautiful bird that flapped around them while they searched. Brolga started to realise that they did not recognise her. She knew then that she would have to do something special to attract their attention. That is when she had the idea to perform her people's favourite dance. When the people saw this, they realised what the Evil Man had done to Brolga. They then promised to look after her forever, so no Evil Man could ever hurt her again.
This is how Brolga became a bird.
Once you have read the story, you can use this document to complete a reading comprehension task. When you finish this task, please e-mail your answers to your Australian Partner Student, who will correct this for you!